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Pickups Pickups - Archived Discussions Cabover Campers & Camper Trailers (pickups) 
1377 messages, Last post on Nov 20, 2003 at 1:43 PM
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Vince, no world map plans. We have traveled quite a bit in Europe, but not with our camper (tent camping with motorcycle mostly). The US and Canadian maps are filled in........Mexico?? Two years ago when we got our current truck, we bought an expensive ($170) Oddysey battery for underhood auxillary battery to power the camper. While heading out on vacation, that battery gave up. Not a big problem, since I had installed a 2nd battery outside the camper. However, the 2nd battery was a 6 year old wheelchair battery and it wasn't too strong. Fortunately, we don't need much electrical, especially in the summer. While in Iowa visiting family, I replaced the underhood aux battery with another small wheelchair battery for $58. These batteries are sealed, and can be mounted in any orientation. Since this little battery worked so well on vacation, I bought another one on the way home and replaced the camper battery after we got home. You may or may not recall, I had mounted the camper battery outside of the camper, in the wasted space in front of the pickup wheelwell, up against the bottom of the step in the camper. I had to lift the camper off the truck to get to the battery. I re-thought that mounting, and decided to mount the battery inside the camper where I can get to it if I need to. Since the battery is about the size of a 6-pak, I wouldn't be losing that much storage space. It fit under the small storage space that is under our table. Lifting the camper, removing the old battery, rewiring, replacing the camper, and installing the new battery took 3-4 hours. Both batteries have independent fusing, and either one can go out without affecting the other. And together, they hold a charge quite well. 13.6V after 10 days sitting. The old Oddyssey went down to 12.3V overnight, while the 6 year old wheelchair battery would still be at 12.9V overnight, it would drop to 12.3 or less with just a little use of electricity. The two wheelchair batteries cost $54 less than the Oddyssey battery and seem to have more power than it ever had. And now my battery is accesible should the need arise. Mike L |
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| Thanks for the Northstar info.A trip to Iowa might be the thing to do.Dune buggies,the first the Meyer's Manx,were on shortened VW pans.That was a lot of work.Then someone hacked the excess sheetmetal off the front and rear of the VW and the Baja Bug was born.Off road events now have many types of Baja classes from almost stock VW sedans to wild full race creations. | |
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Mike, after 10k miles you must have some good stories to tell. I did a 2k trip to Montana and did have a few notable things happen. In Glacier park there is a scenic road called "Going to the Sun" road (or something like that). You can't be over 21 feet long or 8 feet wide, counting mirrors and bumpers, to make it all the way. I'm actually 8' 3" with the electric jacks sticking out but went anyway to see how it was. I did turn around once the rock walls starting getting too close for comfort. Anyway, while at the visitor center I noticed some folks in a Dodge dually dropping their camper in a dirt parking lot. I later learned that they wanted to take the Sun drive and were going to leave the camper behind. They never made it. This camper had hydraulic jacks, which I've come to dislike. The owners were a middle aged man, his wife, and I think her mother. Well mom wanted to help and when the truck was just out from under the truck she cranked open the valve on one of the front jacks and WOOSH goes that corner of the camper almost to the ground! The flip-out (dually) jack bracket bent like sheet metal and the jack was at almost 45 degrees. The other front jack bent out and the camper corners bent some too. What stopped the camper was the overhang hitting the bed wall of the truck. It was quite a sight. A full size camper listing way over with jacks splayed out, resting haphazardly on one wall of the truck. What a mess. The jacks were useless and anything done ran the risk of making the camper fall further. I of course went to help. They called a tow truck but were told it would be a few hours. With a group effort, we managed to find some logs large enough to support my bottle jack under the floor of the camper, and his truck jack under the low jack bracket. Little by little we raised the corner, hoping the other front jack could stand the load. Once we got the bottom more or less level he backed the truck and we set the front floor on his extended bumper. So it was safe now but still couldn't be put on the truck because the front jack brackets were pretzeled. Well good thing we were in Montana. While this was going on an older gent had joined the group. He offered his services since he just happened to have an anvil in his truck (doesn't everyone in Montana?). He opens the back of his shell and it turns out he has a whole metal shop in the back of his truck, forge and all! By that time I was late leaving and had done my part so left it to them to remove the bent brackets and pound them straight. About then the tow truck arrived and was sent away. Two things I learned from this episode. First, hydraulic jacks can be VERY DANGEROUS. I had a similar experience in my driveway and almost had my camper fall over sideways. If you own those jacks, I suggest using pliers to loosen the valve knob because it gives you more control. Sometimes the knob is tight and if you are twisting hard with your hand, once it does break loose look out. Also, only drop each corner a little at a time by opening and CLOSING the valve. This is where I got into trouble by opening each one just a little and letting the camper gently fall straight down. Once one corner began to fall a lot faster than the rest and I almost lost it. The second thing I learned is to not let something like this make you loose your cool. I was amazed at the guy's demeanor as all this was going on. He didn't appear mad, never swore or said anything negative. He just focused on solving the problem. Wow, was I impressed. I know if that happened to me I'd be spewing four letter words. Of course it was his mother in law at fault so he had good reason to keep his mouth shut if he valued his marriage. Moral to this long story: don't own hydraulic jacks and leave your mother in law home! |
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Hmmm, trying to make me happy for having manual jacks?? It's working!! You're right, some people I know would have killed someone if that had happened to their camper. Here's a quick story for you. As we were loading the ferry from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, they checked inside the cab of our truck and inside the camper and the outside of the truck. The cab was too dirty (probably from the dirt in Labrador that we carried with us), so they vacuumed our cab clean, then used a high pressure hose to wash the outside and undercarriage of the truck. Imagine, a free wash and vacuum courtesy of the Canadian government!! Turns out there is a bacteria in the soil on Newfoundland that attacks potatoes, and potatoes are a big crop in northeastern Canada, so the want to keep Newfoundland soil of the mainland. Another quick story: While passing through northern Quebec, we saw maybe hundreds of logging trucks zooming by, going the other way at high speed (do they ever slow down?). Then we noticed a load of logs in the ditch on the outside of a turn (did the supports on the trailer fail?). A mile down the road we saw another load of logs on the outside of a turn --- I hope those supports never fail when we are on the outside of the turn! Another 1/2 mile later we saw a logging truck, upside down on the outside of a turn, with logs still attached to the trailer. Couldn't stop on the blind turn, so we went up the road, turned around and came back. Found a safe place to park and went to check out the accident. The engine was cold, so we assumed the accident had been there awhile, and everyone knew about it (logging trucks pass every 2-3 minutes). You could still see the tire tracks where he had gotten too close to the (soft) edge and the truck slid over and rolled into the ditch. Maybe the trucking company leaves it there awhile to remind the other truckers to slow down. Mike L |
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Anyone have any suggestions on camping at Pismo Beach, or in the outlying area? Might head down that way in Sept.. Vince, yes, I finally got the radio replaced. Hope this one last longer than 23K. Have you or Mike had to replace your tires yet, & if so, did you go to a bigger size & still get 10 ply? I'll probably get new tires next year. Or maybe I'll just get a new truck. After I win the Lotto that is. I looked at the 2003 Silverado when I was getting my radio put in, & if you haven't seen them yet, the front end looks like the Avalanche, & the tail lights are somewhat different. They also have the blinking arrows in the outside mirrors. Not bad looking, but I'll stick with what I have for the time being. |
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Well, we spent the weekend at Cement Creek campground just outside of Crested Butte, CO. Our new "quick trip" camper is a bone stock '01 E350 Diesel Ext. Cargo Van. We tent camped, and used the new zodi portable shower to clean up after dirtbiking both days. Shower works pretty good, 16oz propane bottle and 4 D cells for the water pump and you can take an hour or two's worth of showers. Diesel delivered 18.9 mpg over 1100 miles, cresting our highest pass of 11,700'. The turbo sure is nice for passing, averaged over 60mph for both legs of the trip. So, the big TT and crew cab is still the hot setup for longer duration trips, but the Cargo van along with portopottie and hot shower setup is the ticket for quick turn and burns..... |
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I've camped there a few times. Last time was on new years eve and it was a bit of a zoo. In fact, it's always a zoo there. It's rather like camping on the side of a highway and watching the cars go by. But in this case it's cars, trucks, ATVs, trucks, RVs, trucks, and motorcycles. People drag large trailers and set up camps in circles like the pioneers. It can be noisy and smelly in the day but does quiet down at night.
Actually I like it there just because it's so unique to drive on a beach and camp in the sand where you stop. I'm sure I'd prefer it off season when the crowds are reduced. For tips, hmm. Bring fire wood, you can dig a hole and make a fire. Be ready for a breeze. Bring chairs. Basically it's primitive camping. No water, a few porta-potties, no sites of any kind.
A few of the pictures on my neglected web page were taken there. Here's one
I replaced my tires and wheels with wider ones. Not because I needed to of course. I put on 275/70/16 BFG All Terrain Wobbly Crap tires. They are only load range D but since they are wider they still have a 3000 lb rating. They handle the camper just fine at the max of 65psi. I don't care for the new Chevy front end at all. Yuk. I'm glad I'm not in the market for a truck. I still think the last generation of Chevy and GM were the best looking trucks ever. But that's a debate for another day. |
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Glad you liked the van. That was quick, it doesn't seem long ago you were talking about wanting such a vehicle. What is that shower you mentioned, I've never heard of such a thing. The only portable shower I've seen is the black bag you hang in a tree. |
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OK Mike. Lay it on us. What were your MPG stats for the trip? I found that I can choose my mileage: 70mph = 9mpg 55mph = 12mpg I'll guess you averaged 15.2mpg. Worst tank 11.4, best 16.8. |
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I put a set of LTX A/T's on my truck just before we left on vacation. 7 weeks and 10,000 miles later, I can give you my impressions. The tires I took off were Firestone SteelTex A/T 245/75-16 LR'E's with about 24K on them. Plenty of tread left (I put them on my other truck), reasonable traction, quiet, comfortable, with a small vibration that would come and go. The Michelin's are 235/85-16 LR'E's. I chose this size for a couple of reasons: first, they are 5%taller than the stock tires, but still recommeded for fitment on the stock 6.5" wheels. They have the same load capacity as the stock tires (3042 lbs  80psi). They are slighter narrower, but don't look skinny on the truck. The added height is noticable (same height as a 265/75-16), but not objectionable. A narrower tire works well in snow, surface mud and hard surfaces. And a narrow wheel/tire has less side to side balance problems than a wider set does. When the tires were installed, I was disappointed with the amount of balance weights needed - I always thought Michelins were quality tires and needed very little weight. The tires took 0.5, 5.5, 6.0, and 7.5 ounces to balance. Seems like a lot of weight to me. The F'stones took 3.5 oz max to balance. On the road, the tires are smoother riding than the F'stones were. The slight periodic vibration I had noticed before was gone. The tires are slightly noiser, but only slightly. The tread is quite tough. Several hundred miles of poor dirt and gravel roads in Labrador did not cause any chunking or chipping of the tread, unlike the Firestones that chunked quite a bit going up the Dalton Highway in Alaska. All in all, I like these tires. The Michelins run about $50/tire more than some other well known brands, but I am happy the purchase and would do it again. Mike L |
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